Governing water for local development - Solutions to implementation challenges in remote, rural Nepal

Juho Haapala

Governing water for local development - Solutions to implementation challenges in remote, rural Nepal

Julkaisun otsikon käännös: Vesien hallitseminen paikallisen kehityksen avaimena - Ratkaisuja toimeenpanon haasteisiin Nepalin syrjäisellä maaseudulla

Juho Haapala

Tutkimustuotos: Doctoral Thesis › Collection of Articles

Abstrakti

Väitöskirja tunnistaa käytännöllisiä keinoja maaseudun kehittämiseksi syrjäisillä vuoristoalueilla vesihuollon instituutioiden ja vesi-infrastruktuurin rakentamisen avulla. Vesi on elintärkeä resurssi, sillä vesivarojen saatavuus on perusedellytys valtaosalle maaseudun asukkaiden elinkeinoista sekä heidän elämänlaatunsa kulmakivi. Tutkimuksessa keskitytään Nepaliin maaseutuun ja tarkemmin maaseudun kehittämistoimien toteuttamiseen maan syrjäisimmillä ja köyhimmillä alueilla. Väitöskirjassa tarkastellaan kahta laajamittaista maaseudun vesivarojen hallinnan kehitysprojektia tutkimalla valittuja yhteisöjä näissä hankkeissa. Instituutioiden ja niiden hallinnan lisäksi väitöskirjassa tarkastellaan yksilöiden välisiä vuorovaikutuksia ja heidän vaikutuksiaan kehitysprosessien tuloksiin. Väitöstyön päätutkimuskysymys on "Mitä käytännössä toteuttamiskelpoisia tapoja on toteuttaa ja hallita vesipalveluja kehittyvillä vuoristoisilla maaseutualueilla?" Tutkimuskysymystä tarkastellaan kolmen alakysymyksen avulla: (1) "Missä ovat sosiaalisen ulottuvuuden hallinnan ongelmat paikallistasolla"; (2) "Miten näitä epäkohtia voidaan käsitellä"; ja (3) "Mikä on yksilöiden toimien ja heidän välisten vuorovaikutusten potentiaalinen panos vesipalvelujen kehitykseen ja implementoinnin prosesseihin?" Tutkimuksen teoreettisena perustana ja tutkimuskirjallisuutena käytetään institutionaalisen itseohjautuvuuden (institutional bricolage); ja toimintakykyjen (capability approach) teorioita. Menetelmällisesti väitöskirja soveltaa pragmatistista tieteenfilosofiaa käytännössä ja korostaa sen monitahoisen suuntautumisen vahvuuksia. Väitöskirjassa käytetään joukkoa osallistavia laadullisia tutkimusmenetelmiä. Väitöstyön keskeisenä uutuusarvona on kolme löydöstä. Ensinnäkin väitöskirjassa analysoidaan implementoinnin sosiaalisen ulottuvuuden laiminlyönnin aiheuttamien ongelmien syitä ja yksilöidään kolme tähän liittyvää hallinnon haastetta. Toiseksi tulokset korostavat, että suuri osa operatiivisesta implementoinnista ja paikallisesta institutionaalisesta toiminnasta tapahtuu sosiaalisissa ympäristöissä, jotka eivät ole sääntelevän hallinnon instituutioiden välittömässä vaikutuksessa. Väitöskirjassa todetaan, että nämä sosiaaliset tilat ovat silti ratkaisevia kehitysprosessien kannalta. Kolmanneksi väitöskirjassa tunnistetaan, että yksilöillä on tärkeä kaksoisrooli ylhäältä alas suuntautuvan hallinnan välittäjinä ja toisaalta paikallisen, alhaalta ylöspäin suuntautuvan ongelmanratkaisun osallistujina. Viimeksi mainittu rooli on vähemmän tunnistettu, mutta silti ratkaiseva kehitysprosessien kannalta. Väitös osoittaa, että yksilöt ja heidän väliset muodolliset ja epämuodolliset vuorovaikutuksensa ovat vesivarojen hallinnan ja paikallisen kehityksen kannalta avainasemassa kehittyvällä syrjäisellä maaseudulla. Ruohonjuuritason implementoinnin kannalta pitäisikin siksi keskittyä vuorovaikutuksiin sekä institutionaalisella että yksilöiden välisellä tasolla.

Julkaisun otsikon käännös	Vesien hallitseminen paikallisen kehityksen avaimena - Ratkaisuja toimeenpanon haasteisiin Nepalin syrjäisellä maaseudulla
Alkuperäiskieli	Englanti
Pätevyys	Tohtorintutkinto
Myöntävä instituutio	Aalto-yliopisto
Valvoja/neuvonantaja	Varis, Olli, Vastuuprofessori Keskinen, Marko, Ohjaaja
Kustantaja	Aalto University
Painoksen ISBN	978-952-60-8075-8
Sähköinen ISBN	978-952-60-8076-5
Tila	Julkaistu - 2018
OKM-julkaisutyyppi	G5 Artikkeliväitöskirja

Tutkimusalat

vesihallinto
pragmatismi
maaseudun kehitys
kehitysyhteistyö

Pääsy asiakirjaan

http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-60-8076-5Lisenssi: Määrittelemätön

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@phdthesis{c89ca9fa64534979bd94e56cad07d718,

title = "Governing water for local development - Solutions to implementation challenges in remote, rural Nepal",

abstract = "This dissertation recognises practical ways to advance rural development in remote mountainous areas through water service institutions and infrastructure construction. Water is crucial for development, as access to water resources preconditions much of the rural residents' livelihood possibilities and their quality of living. The research focuses on rural Nepal, and more specifically on the implementation of rural development interventions in the country's remotest and poorest regions. The dissertation examines two large-scale water and rural development interventions by surveying selected communities under these projects. Besides institutions and governance, the dissertation examines the contribution of individual interactions to the development processes and outcomes. The overarching research question is 'What are the practically feasible ways to implement and manage water services in developing, mountainous, rural areas?' The research question is scrutinised through three sub-questions: (1) 'Where are the pitfalls of local-level social embeddedness'; (2) 'How can these pitfalls be addressed'; and (3) 'What potential contribution individual stakeholder acts and interactions have to the water service developments and implementation processes?' The research employs institutional bricolage; and the capabilities approach as the theoretical basis and reference literature. Methodologically, the dissertation demonstrates the pragmatist philosophy of science in action and emphasises the strengths of its multi-perspective orientation. The dissertation applies a set of participatory, qualitative research methods. The novelties of the dissertation are threefold: First, the dissertation analytically describes the pitfalls of social embeddedness, identifying three corresponding governance challenges. Second, the findings emphasise that a large share of the operational implementation and local institutional operation occurs in social spaces beyond the direct influence of the regulatory governance discourses and institutions. Yet, the research results indicate that such social spaces are crucial for the development processes. Third, the dissertation acknowledges that individuals amidst these processes possess an important dual role in the studied setting: they are agents of governance as well as agents of locally originated, bottom-up problem solving outside governance. The latter agency remains less acknowledged, but crucial for the development processes and outcomes. The dissertation indicates that individuals and their formal and informal interactions are crucial for governing water and local development in the developing, remote countryside. At the grassroots level implementation, one should therefore focus on interactions, not only at the institutional, but also at the interpersonal level.",

keywords = "water governance, pragmatism, rural development, development cooperation, Nepal, vesihallinto, pragmatismi, maaseudun kehitys, kehitysyhteisty{\"o}, water governance, pragmatism, rural development, development cooperation, Nepal",

author = "Juho Haapala",

year = "2018",

language = "English",

isbn = "978-952-60-8075-8",

series = "Aalto University publication series DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS",

publisher = "Aalto University",

number = "129",

address = "Finland",

school = "Aalto University",

}

TY - BOOK

T1 - Governing water for local development - Solutions to implementation challenges in remote, rural Nepal

AU - Haapala, Juho

PY - 2018

Y1 - 2018

N2 - This dissertation recognises practical ways to advance rural development in remote mountainous areas through water service institutions and infrastructure construction. Water is crucial for development, as access to water resources preconditions much of the rural residents' livelihood possibilities and their quality of living. The research focuses on rural Nepal, and more specifically on the implementation of rural development interventions in the country's remotest and poorest regions. The dissertation examines two large-scale water and rural development interventions by surveying selected communities under these projects. Besides institutions and governance, the dissertation examines the contribution of individual interactions to the development processes and outcomes. The overarching research question is 'What are the practically feasible ways to implement and manage water services in developing, mountainous, rural areas?' The research question is scrutinised through three sub-questions: (1) 'Where are the pitfalls of local-level social embeddedness'; (2) 'How can these pitfalls be addressed'; and (3) 'What potential contribution individual stakeholder acts and interactions have to the water service developments and implementation processes?' The research employs institutional bricolage; and the capabilities approach as the theoretical basis and reference literature. Methodologically, the dissertation demonstrates the pragmatist philosophy of science in action and emphasises the strengths of its multi-perspective orientation. The dissertation applies a set of participatory, qualitative research methods. The novelties of the dissertation are threefold: First, the dissertation analytically describes the pitfalls of social embeddedness, identifying three corresponding governance challenges. Second, the findings emphasise that a large share of the operational implementation and local institutional operation occurs in social spaces beyond the direct influence of the regulatory governance discourses and institutions. Yet, the research results indicate that such social spaces are crucial for the development processes. Third, the dissertation acknowledges that individuals amidst these processes possess an important dual role in the studied setting: they are agents of governance as well as agents of locally originated, bottom-up problem solving outside governance. The latter agency remains less acknowledged, but crucial for the development processes and outcomes. The dissertation indicates that individuals and their formal and informal interactions are crucial for governing water and local development in the developing, remote countryside. At the grassroots level implementation, one should therefore focus on interactions, not only at the institutional, but also at the interpersonal level.

AB - This dissertation recognises practical ways to advance rural development in remote mountainous areas through water service institutions and infrastructure construction. Water is crucial for development, as access to water resources preconditions much of the rural residents' livelihood possibilities and their quality of living. The research focuses on rural Nepal, and more specifically on the implementation of rural development interventions in the country's remotest and poorest regions. The dissertation examines two large-scale water and rural development interventions by surveying selected communities under these projects. Besides institutions and governance, the dissertation examines the contribution of individual interactions to the development processes and outcomes. The overarching research question is 'What are the practically feasible ways to implement and manage water services in developing, mountainous, rural areas?' The research question is scrutinised through three sub-questions: (1) 'Where are the pitfalls of local-level social embeddedness'; (2) 'How can these pitfalls be addressed'; and (3) 'What potential contribution individual stakeholder acts and interactions have to the water service developments and implementation processes?' The research employs institutional bricolage; and the capabilities approach as the theoretical basis and reference literature. Methodologically, the dissertation demonstrates the pragmatist philosophy of science in action and emphasises the strengths of its multi-perspective orientation. The dissertation applies a set of participatory, qualitative research methods. The novelties of the dissertation are threefold: First, the dissertation analytically describes the pitfalls of social embeddedness, identifying three corresponding governance challenges. Second, the findings emphasise that a large share of the operational implementation and local institutional operation occurs in social spaces beyond the direct influence of the regulatory governance discourses and institutions. Yet, the research results indicate that such social spaces are crucial for the development processes. Third, the dissertation acknowledges that individuals amidst these processes possess an important dual role in the studied setting: they are agents of governance as well as agents of locally originated, bottom-up problem solving outside governance. The latter agency remains less acknowledged, but crucial for the development processes and outcomes. The dissertation indicates that individuals and their formal and informal interactions are crucial for governing water and local development in the developing, remote countryside. At the grassroots level implementation, one should therefore focus on interactions, not only at the institutional, but also at the interpersonal level.

KW - water governance

KW - pragmatism

KW - rural development

KW - development cooperation

KW - Nepal

KW - vesihallinto

KW - pragmatismi

KW - maaseudun kehitys

KW - kehitysyhteistyö

KW - water governance

KW - pragmatism

KW - rural development

KW - development cooperation

KW - Nepal

M3 - Doctoral Thesis

SN - 978-952-60-8075-8

T3 - Aalto University publication series DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS

PB - Aalto University

ER -

Governing water for local development - Solutions to implementation challenges in remote, rural Nepal

Abstrakti

Tutkimusalat

Pääsy asiakirjaan

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